SocialWork Practice Innovations: Helping Clients Understand, Explore, and Develop Their Friendships

Abstract

This article demonstrates the importance of helping clients understand, explore, and develop friendships in social work practice. The nature of friendships is explored. A cross-disciplinary analysis of the literature concerning friendships and their relationship to human health and functioning is discussed. Case examples illustrating the importance of friendships and examples of the conscious use of friendships as a target of intervention are provided.